


Love Keeps Him Warm

by scatteredmoonlight



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cold Weather, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e10 Erchomai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 00:30:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16566128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatteredmoonlight/pseuds/scatteredmoonlight
Summary: Having lost his magic, Magnus can't remember a worse December. It's impossible for him to stay warm. But luckily, he has Alec.





	Love Keeps Him Warm

Magnus stiffened his quivering leg and fought to garner a sense of decorum as he stood shivering outside an opera house, early for his date to the ballet with Alec. His cellphone had died, the lobby too crowded for Alec to find him and leaving him no choice but to tough it out in the snow. Magnus blew into his gloved palms and frowned down the street, partly from anticipation of Alec’s arrival and the trickling fear of running into an old acquaintance. Worse, another warlock. They all pitied him and offered potions for warmth, often concocted from spells that Magnus himself had created.

He had forgone a respectable hairstyle, as a beanie was a necessity and the effort to preserve his hair without magic too tedious. As winter encroached, he realized the fire of his magic had simmered ever present in his veins, warming him better than any innate mundane capability. He needed a beanie, a hoodie, and a scarf just to feel like his head was not turning into a frozen block of ice. His favorite word had become thermal. Thermal socks, thermal undershirt, thermal pants, thermal blankets. In the stress of Alec’s presumed death and the impending weather, Isabelle had grown maniacally obsessed with studies about the release of serotonin from yarn crafts. The scarf he wore Isabelle knitted herself, the never-ending length allured her, a variegated merino wool scarf that accentuated the shimmering midnight blue eyeshadow he meticulously applied by hand. Nothing could be done about the thick, puffy down jacket. At least it was black.

Nevertheless, the clothes humbled him.

They reminded Magnus that losing his magic wasn’t a curse but a decision borne out of love for Alec and Jace, two Shadowhunters when just last year he’d have balked at the notion. He since gained the new cherished the memory of picking out a tree with Alec and hauling it up the stairs to the loft. Little bells hung beside priceless ornaments, and atop shined a star with electronically induced light. He had forgone the tinsel this year, on account of not having magic at his disposal for cleanup, but he remembered setting the ornaments on the tree, stumbling into Alec as they mindlessly decorated. Their kiss tasted of cinnamon eggnog and mint.

He closed his eyes and recited a comforting mantra until his mind grew hushed with murmurs, then buzzed with silence. He listened to the discordances outside the opera house. Barks of laughter. Shoes clicking on the sidewalk. Engines thrumming as cars swept past. Music and carols, little bells ringing around the corner.

“Magnus!”

Magnus shivered toward Alec’s voice, unabashed in his neediness. Alec brushed through crowds, exhaling white puffs of air.

Stunning as always, Alexander approached Magnus in a winding pace. A chunky, grey scarf bundled around his neck and tucked into his tweed black coat. Alec had his cellphone pressed against his ear, the entire display dashing with those honey leather gloves. _I wonder if he’s wearing long johns_ , thought Magnus.

Magnus smiled graciously, but the elegance vanished the second his teeth clattered. “A-Alexander.” He promptly shut up.

Alec slipped the phone back into his pocket. “You’re freezing. Why didn’t you go inside?”

Magnus shrugged. “Bad reception, no service. On account of no battery.”

Alec pecked his lips, then clasped Magnus's hands and blew into them. Smiling, he said, “I had a feeling you’d be cold.” He fished through his pockets for a set of leather mittens that matched Alec’s gloves. After Magnus slipped them on, Alec blew into his palms and kissed the tips of his mitten-clad, gloved fingers.

“Shall we?” said Magnus.

Alec grasped his hand, and they went together to the opera house.


End file.
